Gremlins (Part III of III)
Posted on Fri Feb 28, 2020 @ 5:54am by Captain Maritza Soran & Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Lieutenant JG Scaliontis Lovok & Lieutenant Si'Lar Trellis & Lieutenant Kivan Ta'Gas & Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca & Civilian Hydel Turvan
1,990 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: Various, DS5
Timeline: MD01 1500
Previously on
Lieutenant Erich Hartmann walked quickly from terminal to terminal, listening as subordinates reported fluctuation after fluctuation, failure after failure. Reports streamed from all areas of the massive station, and it seemed as if the big girl would simply lie down and die. Erich tried to display calm to his crew, but internally his teeth were gritting over the problems popping up. He was quickly running out of resources to fix the issues, and even novel solutions had failed so far.
It was finally too much for the German. He tapped his combadge. “Ops to Engineering...”
And now the continuation
Main Engineering - Decks 1128-1157
Scaliontis and his engineers were getting report after report of glitches to full shut down of minor systems. Thankfully no primaries or major secondaries had suffered, yet.
That's what scared the Romulan refugee since the Kangaroo had a docking reject earlier, and the fear was growing slowly.
He went from team leader to team leader, specialist to specialist, about the malfunctions. All reported that while no major injuries happened, the engineers who came to fix the problems stated that the system or equipment resumed normal functions as they tended to them.
The only one that seemed resistant to repairs was the communications array, leaving the entire station population unable to talk to each other unless in the same room or corridor. The communications specialist though left most of their job to Operations detailed that the issues shifted when attempts to fix it were made.
"That's very ominous," Scaliontis said, tapping at the console as he stood next to the specialist.
"It could be a virus?" the specialist said, both as a question and a statement.
The Romulan glanced sideways at the specialist. "It didn't trigger the antivirus protocols?"
"No. Yet the shifting acts like one is affecting the array." The specialist tapped at the console as well now and brought up a list of the components that was logged by the computer as having had malfunctioned. "It is as if a gremlin is playing with everything."
"I hate those," Scaliontis said, having had encountered plenty in his career both in Romulan and Federation tech. "At least they are ignoring critical systems like life support, reactors, structural integrity, and docking control."
Scaliontis wondered where Kivan was, and hoped the hybrid was okay with all the malfunctions. He thought of Andronikos, and though he had left for a mission, he hoped there would be a functioning normally station for him to come back to.
"What about the Promenade?" another engineer asked, approaching Lovok.
"Is the flow still in progress?" Scaliontis asked back.
The engineer checked another console and shook his head.
"Well, we aren't cleaners. Unless the fountain malfunctions again, the housekeeping staff are better equipped to deal with it," Scaliontis said as he decided to steer clear of the Promenade for a few days. "Meantime, you all have your regular duties to attend to unless your team leaders change them. Or I do."
The engineers nodded and went back to work. Several left Engineering to tend to either current or new problems.
Main Base Operations Power Grid - Deck 65
Lieutenant Kivan Ta'Gas had spent the past several hours within the Operations grid complex trying to sort out the cascading failure that had taken over the station. He was at his wits end as he tried to gain some kind of understanding as to what was happening all over the station. He had mapped the primary and secondary grid, but he still could not figure out the origins of the systems failure. One or two systems he could understand, and even expect for a station so large, but the sheer number of incidents and their proximity to one another defied all logic.
He sighed in frustration as he studied where the latest fluctuations had occurred in the past hour. His primary concern was ensuring that the power flow remained consistent through the EPS manifold system. A slight glitch or blockage in flow could result in a cataclysmic failure and the shorting out of an entire deck.
Unfortunately, what he realized that the latest malfunction was localized on Deck 8 near the Primary Communications Array, which meant that it was only a matter of time before the comms unit went on the fritz.
"Lieutenant Kivan to Engine---" he tried to say, but was met with feedback. "Damnit!" he said.
"Lieutenant Kivan to Ops," he said, but was met with the same dispatch of noise. He slammed his hand against the console and was prepared to leave and make his way up towards the Main Engineering Bay when he noticed the arrival of two uniformed Cardassians. Ta'Gas stopped and observed them for several moments.
They wore a typical Cardassian military uniform. However, they did not possess any weapons of any kind. The taller of the two carried a small pad with him that he recognized as belonging to the Science and Engineering Group assigned to the embassy.
Great. . .just what I need at the moment. . . the Cardassian/Bajoran thought to himself.
"How can I help you gentlemen today?" the Starfleet engineer said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
The two Cardassian engineers looked at each other briefly and laughed as one spoke to the other in a low tone. Kivan was too far away to hear the conversation perfectly, but he was able to detect the phrase ta’cardăst come from the shorter Cardassian. Kivan was all too familiar with the phrase, as it meant that a person or thing was un-Cardassian or foreign. Kivan had heard the phrase frequently amongst his own kind since choosing to wear the Starfleet uniform.
"We're here to address the power failures that are affecting the Cardassian Embassy," the taller Cardassian said as he stepped forward and handed the padd to Kivan. "We've put in several requests for service, but Starfleet has failed to address them," he said with the typical tone one would take when speaking down to a subordinate rather than a colleague.
Kivan closed his eyes and counted silently to himself as he tried to control the rage that was building inside of him.
Cardassian Embassy - Embassy Row - Deck 60
Legate Hydel Turvan sighed with visible frustration as the power dimmed and flickered for the umpteenth time. It had gotten to the point where the Cardassian leader had stopped counting and had begun to simply wait for another flicker to occur. As if the power instability was not enough, the atmosphere controls were also on the fritz, significantly lowering the temperature throughout the embassy to a much lower than acceptable level. It had not reached low enough to be a health concern, but it was significant enough to draw the attention of every Cardassian.
"I leave him for several months and the entire facility falls apart!" Legate Turvan complained irritably as he sat in the anteroom of the conference hall. "I'd expect this sort of deficiencies from the Bajorans or even Klingons, but this is sovereign Cardassian territory. We have standards to maintain at all times!" he continued to complain.
To his right sat Hureth Arkul, the Governor-Supreme of the Xi'Cadian Galactic Union. At a noticeable height of 6'3" and with striking blue skin, it was difficult to miss the politician or his reactions to the Cardassian’s obvious discomfort. This was his first time onboard the Federation station as well as within the Cardassian Embassy. He had spent the better part of the past half-hour listening to Legate Turvan go on and on about the condition of the facility and the numerous outages and malfunctions that were occuring. To him, the temperature seemed acceptable. However, Xi'Cadian physiology allowed the politician to adapt to various environments with ease. It was humorous to see Cardassians, a race known for their aggressive and militaristic nature, be humbled by something as simple as the room being a bit too cold.
"Sir, we have dispatched engineers to Federation Main Power Facility to address the problem at the source," Gul Meran replied from his seat across from the two visitors. "Beyond that, there is not much we can do to resolve the problem until the Federation first figures out what is going on." He continued, "This calamity appears to be taking place all over the station, not just here."
"Of course," Turvan said in resignation.
"Regardless," Governor Arkul chimed in, "we are here to speak with the rebel scum of my planet and convince them the error of their ways and their need to lay down arms and surrender," he said, his eyes narrowing, mirroring the level of conviction in his voice.
Turbolift
Alanna stepped on to the turbolift and pushed the button for the command center. From her walk down the corridor she could tell that the problems were not just in science. Her problems, fortunately, weren't critical, but she did want information.
A moment later, the lights flickered and went out. "Oh dear..." She should have known better, but there really wasn't another option if she wanted to avoid climbing through the Jefferies' tubes.
She tapped her combadge. "Wells to Ops." She was pretty sure the board in ops already showed the power outage, but just in case, she wanted to let someone know. There was no response.
When the emergency lights came on, she tried again, but still nothing. "I am not going to be stuck here for the rest of the day," she muttered to herself. She looked around and decided her best option was to climb onto the roof of the lift and up the ladder. But that was easier said than done. It took her several tries, and one fall, before she made it. She climbed to the next deck, manually opened the lift door, and stepped out.
Power was still out, so she headed back to Science where she at least had a working computer.
Primary Brig - Deck 575
Chief Petty Officer Vu Rhukh had just arrived in the brig facility to relieve Lieutenant Si'Lar Trellis from duty. Ordinarily, Trellis would not have been serving on Brig duty, but Security personnel had been re-assigned to various parts of the station due to the recent calamity that had taken place on the Promenade.
Numerous fights and brawls had erupted throughout the Square Mile since the problem had started. Security had its hands full trying to mediate the situation, but the strain on Security personnel was even more obvious due to the recent arrival of the Starfleet Security transport vessel Belmont. The vessel was on its way to the Halcyon Penal Colony, but had encountered unanticipated problems within its propulsion system, necessitating the vessel to dock with DS5 for extensive repairs. While the vessel was undergoing the necessary repairs, it had temporarily transported a portion of its inmate population to the station brig. The timing could not have been more perfect.
"Afternoon, sir," CPO Rhukh said as he arrived. "Still having the time of your life?" he asked with an obvious smirk.
"Oh, I'm living the dream." Lieutenant Trellis sighed as he stood up and began to transfer security functions to his relief. "Nothing gets me out of bed faster than playing babysitter to a couple dozen malcontents on their way to a penal labor colony. You can only imagine how conversational they've been," he said, shaking his head. "I could use a good drink...or three," the Trill said, only half joking.
And then everything failed.
To be Continued…
Cdr. Caleb Ryan
Executive Officer
Lieutenant Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer
Ensign Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist
Paula
Botanist
Lieutenant (jg) Scaliontis Lovok
Chief Engineer
Lieutenant Annora Tessaro
Chief Security Officer
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